This press release comes from Wyomingarts' old pal, Corby Skinner in Billings:
Nominations are now open for the 2009 Parmly Billings Library High Plains Book Awards.
Nominated books must have been published for the first time in 2008 and written by a regional author or writing team, and/or be a literary work which examines and reflects life on the High Plains. A new award has been added this year honoring the poetry of the region.Nominations are also being accepted for the Emeritus Award which recognizes a body of work by a living regional author and/or writing team which has made a significant contribution to the literature of the High Plains region.
Nominations must be received at the Library no later than Friday March 27, at 5 p.m., MDT. The Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, October 2, 2009 in Billings.
For deadlines and criteria information on how to nominate a book or a writer for the Billings Library High Plains Book Awards go to http://ci.billings.mt.us/index.asp?nid=1180.
Nominations are encouraged from book sellers, educators, librarians, library associations, writers, publishers and individuals.
The six categories for consideration are: the Emeritus Award; Best Novel; Best Nonfiction; Best Poetry; Best First Book and the Zonta Best Woman Writer Award.
Last year’s winners ’08 include: Gary Ferguson, Emeritus; Gary Schanbacher, Best First Book; Sarah Klassen, Best Fiction; Sarah Klassen; Best Nonfiction, Byron Price; and the Zonta Award to Wyoming's Alyson Hagy.
The Awards Banquet is the launch event for the month-long celebration of the arts in Billings, and is held in conjunction with the Billings Cultural Partners and the YMCA Writer’ s Voice seventh annual High Plains Book Fest.
The YMCA Writer’s Voice has applied for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, for the Big Read, an initiative to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. If awarded, the book selected for the Big Read in Billings is Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich.
For more information on the Big Read and the High Plains BookFest, contact Corby Skinner at
corby@skinnerbenoit.com
